An App For That
by AdorableElephant
Summary: S.Q. brings a brand new piece of technology to Mr. Curtain.  What will result from this?  Ignore my amazing summary and read it to find out!  Please review!  This was written for Kahlan The Dream Spirit's Technology challenge.  Thank you to Dove's Wing!


An App For That.

I DO NOT own The Mysterious Benedict Society, S.Q. or Curtain, or the iPhone.

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S.Q. Pedalian marched merrily into the Institute, happy to have found something he could report to Mr. Curtain. Well, it's more like he stumbled, tripped, and barely managed to walk, merrily into the Institute. Mr. Curtain had sent him out nearly an hour ago to scout for things that could help with his project; he had been told to search for things that "are great technological advancements". S.Q. had found something practically right away. He had been roaming the streets of Stonetown, looking in shop windows, and at posters advertising goods when he saw it. He had quickly snapped a photograph of the display, and hurried as quickly as his clumsy feet would allow to get himself back to the Institute. Unfortunately, he hadn't been paying careful enough attention when he started out, and he got himself lost twice on his scurry back to L.I.V.E., but that was behind him now, beyond the point at this moment, and S.Q. didn't have a single thought in his head about it as he made his feeble attempt at skipping through the halls of the school in a clownish haste, towards where Mr. Curtain was sure to be.

As he entered the Whispering Gallery, S.Q.'s face erupted into a smiling, goofish, grin. There was Mr. Curtain, and there was the Whisperer, and here was the photograph of the device in his hand, ready to show to his hero. S.Q. stumbled over the door frame, his arm outstretched, and his spirits high. Mr. Curtain glanced up from his work, and looked at S.Q. beneath his glasses. He sighed and put down his pen. S.Q. wondered what he was thinking. He imagined that Mr. Curtain himself was wondering what good ideas S.Q. had brought for him. In reality, Curtain was preparing himself for disaster.

"You've brought something back, then, Mr. Pedalian?" Mr. Curtain asked.

"Yes, sir! It was a piece of pie!" S.Q. exclaimed.

"Cake," Mr. Curtain muttered.

"What, sir?" S.Q. asked.

Mr. Curtain ignored him. He was examining the picture.

"What is this, S.Q.?" Curtain inquired.

"The iPhone, Mr. Curtain, sir!" S.Q. explained. "They say it's got thousands of applications!"

"Is that so?" Mr. Curtain wheeled to the computer sitting on his large desk, and ran a search for information about the product. He found a lengthy article and began reading. There were a few long minutes' silence in which S.Q. struggled not to burst with excitement. Finally, Mr. Curtain looked away from the screen, apparently done reading.

"So?" S.Q. prompted.

"Mr. Pedalian, you blundering idiot." Mr. Curtain spoke quietly. "It appears you may have finally done something right."

S.Q. started to say a word of gratitude, oblivious that Mr. Curtain's statement was more insult than compliment, but the genius of a man cleared his throat to stop him.

"Go. Fetch computer cables for me. And then go buy this... iPhone." Mr. Curtain paused and eyed the Whisperer hungrily. "If we act quickly, we may just open the doors to a whole new branch of mind-control!" Mr. Curtain seemed to be talking more to himself now than to S.Q. Nevertheless, he pushed a large sum of money into S.Q.'s hands, and swatted him towards the door.

S.Q. skittered away bogglingly. Had he said mind-control? S.Q. wasn't sure, but it didn't really matter. Whatever it was Mr. Curtain wanted to use it the iPhone for, S.Q. was sure it was for the good.

He trusted Mr. Curtain as a friend, and he had the feeling that Mr. Curtain trusted him too. That's what friendship was for, right? S.Q. most certainly considered Curtain as a friend. He was his mentor, his teacher, and he acted as the father S.Q. never had. Or at least, the father S.Q. never remembered. S.Q. didn't remember much about life before the Institute. He remembered he might have had a brother. He also remembered that he hadn't had any friends. But now he did! Mr. Curtain and the other Executives his friends, and that was good enough for him! S.Q. loved his friends, and the Institute, and his work there. But once again, it didn't really matter at this particular moment. He had pleased Mr. Curtain! He felt a surge of self-pride as he rushed and fell down the stairs. Finally, he willed himself to slow down. After all, haste makes paste, and he certainly didn't need any glue right now...

Meanwhile, Curtain was upstairs planning his next maneuver. He would hook up the iPhone to the Whisperer, revealing new branches of technology. He could accomplish incredible things with this phone. Not to mention he could make money. Certainly there was some way he could use this device to earn large sums of cash. He sure hoped so. He was most definitely going to need money to continue his work and study of the mind. But he mustn't worry about money now. There were more important things he could use this phone for. He could control the mind in more ways than possible now. He could access what the common person does and use that to his advantage. And who is to say that if you can put thoughts into other people's minds, you can't read what's already there? Yes, he could certainly use this to discover more about his own control and its effects on people.

He thought vaguely of the Executive that just left his office, one of his tools for the Whisperer. So, the butterfingered boy had found him something useful. For all the trouble S.Q. Pedalian was, he was also a pretty good Executive. Even though many everyday tasks might prove impossible for S.Q., Mr. Curtain knew that if it really came down to it, he could count on the boy. But that didn't matter right now. With the iPhone, he could discover more options than ever before for control. World domination, straight ahead.

Yep. There's even an app for that.

* * *

Wrote this for Kahlan's challenge about technology! Thanks for reading! Please review! Sorry if it got boring, I was trying to fulfill the requirements!


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